the alps - le voyage

Cat No : type056

Label : Type

Compact Disc

$13.50

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Still comprised of the core threesome of Jefre Cantu-Ledesma (Tarentel), Alexis Georgopoulos (ARP) and Scott Hewicker (Troll), The Alps return to Type in full force for their fourth sprawling long-player. Buoyed by the praise lavished upon its predecessor III, the band were adamant that Le Voyage would be bigger, brighter and better than anything in their catalog to date, and Type reports that they have been successful in their quest. The sun-bleached European movie soundtrack sentiment that underpinned their previous records is still here in full force, but it comes rolled up in something defiantly more psychedelic, and in turn more unpredictable. Sewn together by vignettes which bring to mind Delia Derbyshire's Radiophonic hiccups or Luc Ferrari's tape collage, the band have put together an album which genuinely takes you on a journey. Surely it can't be a mistake calling the album Le Voyage then, a title which simultaneously brings to mind the work of Serge Gainsbourg and Alejandro Jodorowsky -- something deeply visual but effortlessly beautiful. With propulsive, break-heavy rhythms sure to appeal to any diggers out there and a blissful, sunny outlook to wipe the frown from the faces of all you dour experimental types, Le Voyage is a crack of light in a dark room. A mysterious record, it is punctuated by the same energy that gave us space rock and psychedelia, and while the band are quick to demonstrate their wide-ranging musical knowledge, there is something incredibly unique about their sound. This is not a lazy soundtrack to a film which might never be made, rather, Le Voyage is a journey for the listener and one you will want to take over and over again.